The present invention relates to a door control network, and more particularly to a system to control ingress and egress of employees, residents, clients, and/or visitors in a multi-door facility, for example a Long Term Care (LTC) facility. Systems according to the present invention may also be used as call systems, such as nurse or aide call systems.
Prior door control systems available in the marketplace for LTC facilities were typically a multi-system design. For example, a first system for monitoring residents' locations to prevent residents from leaving the facility, called a “wanderer monitoring” system, and a second system to prevent access to a building or specified locations in a building by unauthorized people, called an “Access Control” system. Additional systems could also be installed to connect and control everything at the main entrance or at various other doors throughout the facility, including door bells, intercom systems, and time clocks. Furthermore, multiple vendors would be needed to install and service the various systems, which would not likely be able to integrate with one another.
Due to these factors, the installation, servicing, utilization, and monitoring of multiple systems is cost prohibitive, or at the very least cumbersome and inefficient, to use in many LTC facilities and could drive some LCT facilities to install a system that does not meet all of its actual needs.
Therefore, there is a need for a more efficient and cost effective door control system that incorporates multiple functionalities, including a wander monitoring system, an Access Control system, and other additional systems.